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Chapter 217: Flying Thunder God Technique: Sword of Ninja Love Version!
🕑 Added 2025-09-27 12:58:55 +0000 UTCChapter 217: Flying Thunder God Technique: Sword of Ninja Love Version!
In the early stages of the Third War, Minato would "mow the grass" with his Flying Thunder God, his hands in his pockets, having never met a true "mountain."
Today, staring at the Rasengan in Nara Keisuke's hand, "Master Minato" finally understood one thing: when it came to sheer talent in ninjutsu, compared to Keisuke, everyone else fell short.
In Minato's eyes, the Rasengan was a jutsu with limitless potential. Seal-less, non-elemental, and possessing an extremely complex and high-level shape transformation. Even in its most basic form, its difficulty and power were enough to be rated A-rank. And if one could infuse other chakra nature transformations into it... to create a "Gale Rasengan," a "Blast-Flame Rasengan," a "Sealing Rasengan," or even a "Yin-Yang Rasengan"... its power would increase again, perhaps even rivaling its true prototype—the Tailed Beast Bomb!
But... here he was, still stuck with a half-finished prototype. Nara Keisuke, on the other hand, was already displaying a stable, complete version.
Considering Keisuke's "Spiraling Shadow Killing Cannon" and "Dark Spiral Annihilation Sphere," Minato had every reason to believe he had developed the Rasengan long ago, and that those other jutsu were its derivatives. Minato hadn't even figured out the basics, and Keisuke was already firing off attacks that rivaled a Tailed Beast Bomb.
If Minato was the "Little Sun" who shone brightly on the first half of the war, then after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Nara Keisuke was the "Black Comet" streaking across the sky. His rise was so fast that no one could react. Minato had made great contributions, but Keisuke had captured Ebizō, suppressed the Third Tsuchikage, captured the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, contracted with Kokuō, and repelled the Third Raikage and the AB Combo...
As of today, the Little Sun's light had been thoroughly eclipsed by the Shadow of Darkness.
If, before developing the Rasengan, Minato still had some thoughts of competing with Keisuke, those thoughts had now all but vanished. He had placed so much hope on the Rasengan because it was a jutsu he had created, one that perfectly matched his fighting style and would massively increase his close-range power.
But... Keisuke had already surpassed him by several versions.
'All these years, Jiraiya-sensei has been telling me that I am the "Child of Prophecy"...' Staring at the Rasengan, Minato's thoughts began to drift. 'But compared to Keisuke... am I really the one?'
He recalled Jiraiya's description of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy: "The Great Sage said... I will take on a disciple, and my disciple will bring a great revolution to the ninja world... He said I will guide that revolutionary, but that one day, I will be forced to make a major choice... He also mentioned... that my disciple, that child of man, will come to Mount Myōboku, and the toads will grant him their power..."
Aside from the "bringing a great revolution" part, Minato fit every other condition. He had even been to Mount Myōboku and successfully learned their "Sage Art," even if he couldn't maintain it for long. Not just Jiraiya, but even his enemies, the AB Combo, believed he was the Child of Prophecy.
It was just... Minato himself was no longer confident. Child of Prophecy? Revolutionary? Never mind all that, a Child of Prophecy at least needed the power to change the world, right?
He thought back to the enemies he had faced recently. The Jinchuriki... the Susanoo... the "Strongest Shield"... Minato's heart was bitter. His own power, let alone changing them, couldn't even break their defenses. All of those ridiculously strong opponents were handled by Keisuke.
So... 'Is Keisuke the real Child of Prophecy? But that would conflict with the prophecy...'
'Perhaps, after the war, I need to go to Mount Myōboku and ask the Great Toad Sage myself...'
Minato took a deep breath, burying the thought. The most pressing matter was to ask Keisuke about the Rasengan.
"Keisuke... this might be a bit presumptuous, but... could I really ask you to teach me the Rasengan?"
Minato asked himself: what was his relationship with Keisuke? At best, they were "friends." But in the ninja world, secrecy was everything. Unless it was a parent, a relative, or a master-disciple relationship, the only way to learn another's private jutsu was to kill them for it.
He was deeply moved by Keisuke's generosity, but he couldn't just accept it, even if the Rasengan was a perfect fit for his combat style.
"If it were anyone else, probably not. But for you, Minato-san, it's no problem at all," Keisuke said, dispelling the Rasengan with a wave. "But I have one condition. If you develop any new types of Rasengan in the future, don't forget to share them with me!"
This was his real goal. He wasn't just being generous. He knew Minato would invent it eventually anyway. By "teaching" it to him now, he was making an investment. He was turning the "Little Sun" into a "tool-man." Keisuke had too much on his own research plate; he couldn't possibly develop every variation of the Rasengan. Why not outsource the R&D to Konoha's other top genius?
"If you are really willing to teach me the Rasengan, Keisuke, then I will absolutely honor that promise!" Minato said, his voice earnest.
"Great!" Keisuke laughed. The true genius, the Little Sun, has fallen into my grasp!
"So, Minato-san," Keisuke asked, "do you want the 'Complete Version' or the 'Speedrun Version'?"
Minato was baffled by the terminology. He understood the words, but... this was the Rasengan! An A-rank jutsu! You could speedrun it?
"If you want the complete version, I'll teach you all the theory, details, and key points," Keisuke explained patiently. "If you want the speedrun version... given your current progress, it'll probably take you a week at most to master it."
There were two great teachers in Konoha's history: Jiraiya, who taught Naruto the Rasengan, and Naruto, who taught Konohamaru the Rasengan. The jutsu had three stages: rotation, power, and containment. From his observation, Minato had already mastered the first two; he was only missing the last step. The solution was simple. He would just have Minato walk the same path his son once did.
Hearing Keisuke's words, Minato had to admit, he was tempted. On the battlefield, time was everything. If he could, he would master the Rasengan in one second and its nature transformations in the next. But an A-rank jutsu wasn't something you could learn overnight. Yet, Keisuke was saying he could master it in a week.
As a man who pursued the ultimate in speed, Minato's choice was obvious.
"I want to challenge the speedrun version!"
"Alright. Please wait a moment while I write down the scroll."
Keisuke wasn't surprised. Minato had already done most of the work. The theory and details? He probably understood them better than Keisuke.
As Keisuke took out his Large Sealing Scroll, Minato suddenly spoke. "Ah, Keisuke, could you give me a blank scroll as well?"
Keisuke raised an eyebrow but didn't ask why, simply tossing him one. The tent fell silent, filled only with the sound of brushes on paper. Keisuke finished his "Rasengan Speedrun Guide" first. A short while later, Minato finished his as well.
"Minato-san, here is the scroll you wanted," Keisuke said, handing his over.
"Keisuke, you can use the Flying Thunder God Technique, correct?" Minato said, handing over his scroll. "My talent is limited, and I've only been able to make minor improvements on Lord Second's original technique, but I think this might be of some help to you."
Keisuke was genuinely surprised. He took the scroll, and his panel instantly flashed.
[S-Rank Technique Detected: [Flying Thunder God Technique - Sword of Ninja Love Version]. Learn?]
